Vol. 67 No. 38 | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2023 | 27 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper CELEBS ON DIWALI 2023 SHORT CIRCUIT IN DIWALI LIGHTING 95-yr-old dies in Vile Parle fire KALPESH MHAMUNKAR MUMBAI A 95-year-old woman died in a fire that broke out at her house in Vile Parle on Friday evening. Harshada Janardhan Pathak was alone in the second floor apartment of Vile Grand Residency at Punam Baug when the fire broke out at 7.27 pm; the other members of the household had gone out for various reasons, according to officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The fire, which broke out in the decorative electric lighting put up for Diwali in Flat 201 of the ground plus 12-floor building on Nariman Road at Vile Parle East, soon spread to other parts of the house and damaged appliances such as the television and refrigerator, as well as the wooden furniture, doors, false ceilings and several household articles, said the officials. Fire brigade personnel, who had been alerted by neighbours, switched off the electricity supply and then used a small hose and three motor pumps to douse the blaze, according to an official. The fire was doused in 30 minutes, the official said. Pathak was rushed to Cooper Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead. “The fire broke out in the decorative electric lighting put up for Diwali and spread fast because of the combustible material in the house such as the wooden furniture, sofa and other electric installations,” said Chief Fire Brigade Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar. “The lady sustained 25 per cent burns and succumbed to her injuries. The fire did not spread to other flats,” he said. Ambulgekar has urged citizens to be careful during Diwali. The Mumbai fire brigade has undertaken awareness campaigns in this regard and in this connection fire station officers have visited 68 places in Mumbai, including chawls and slum areas, he said. THE FP BULLETIN ICC SUSPENDS LANKA BOARD S ri Lankan cricket descended into turmoil with the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspending the country’s cricket board with immediate effect on Friday. The ICC stated that its board met on Friday and determined that SLC was in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka. The ICC decision dovetails Sri Lankan sports ministry sacking the entire cricket board and the Sri Lankan Parliament passing a unanimous resolution to dissolve the cricket board as well. Check out how our popular stars are celebrating the festival EDIT ODD-EVEN TACTIC MAY NOT WORK NATIONAL EDUCATION DAY IIP GROWTH DECELERATES TO 5.8% IN SEP Industrial production had grown by 10.3% in August 2023 Sabse bada Khiladi was into match-fixing ASHISH SINGH / MUMBAI The Mumbai police have registered an FIR against the promoter of the Khiladi app -  subsidiary of the Mahadev a app. According to a copy of the FIR, available exclusively to the FPJ, it is mentioned that the accused, Saurabh Chandrakar, actively participated in match-fixing, to earn profits through unofficial means.   The complainant, an RTI ac- tivist named Prakash reliable sources that a thorBankar, has alleged that the ough investigation will reveal results of most matches were that the accused Chander manipulated and decided by Agarwal was involved in the Chandrakar and his close as- cricket league and had played sociates residing in a direct and/or indiLondon -- Dinesh rect role in both preKhambhat and vious and ongoing Chander Agarwal. EXCLUSIVE match-fixing activiIncidentally they , ties. are as significant match-fix-   per the complaint, there is As ers in India. a link between MumbaiAccording to the registered based accused Mohit BarFIR, the complainant Bankar man, Dinesh Khambhat, Rohas stated that he learnt from hit Kumar Murgai and Gau- THE FPJ rav Barman. They are directly involved in the cricket league and hold direct equity in the associations participating in the league. Through their collaboration, they control and operate the player booking website/portal. As participants in the league, they are implicated in the criminal acts of match-fixing in cricket matches through their participating associations, the complaint has charged. CONTD. ON NATION SWAPNIL MISHRA / MUMBAI FAR TOO MANY Crackers only between 8 pm and 10 pm CIVILIANS KILLED IN GAZA: BLINKEN   URVI MAHAJANI / MUMBAI Holding that it was the sudden rain that had helped improve the air quality in the city the , Bombay high court turned down the BMC’s plea for relaxation of the court’s four-day stay on transportation of construction debris, and instead, extended it further, until November 19. The court noted that the figures shown by the civic body spoke volumes FPJ NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Friday that “far too many Palestinians have been killed” in Gaza, in the latest indication that the Biden administration is growing increasingly concerned about the civilian death toll in face of the incessant bombing and the ground assault. “Much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitar- ian assistance reaches them,” Blinken told reporters in New Delhi after co-chairing the India-US 2+2 dialogue of defence and foreign ministers in New Delhi. (The reassuring statement came even as explosions were heard at or near several hospitals north of the Gaza Strip. In one instance, footage showed tanks firing near a children's hospital, AlRantisi, which is supposedly a shelter for civilians.) CONTD. ON NATION The issue of Maratha quota reared its head again on Friday with the leader of opposition in Maharashtra legislature Vijay Wadettiwar commenting that the demand of Kunbi (OBC) caste certificates is unlikely to benefit the Maratha youths. Livid at the comment, activist Jarange-Patil, who is spearheading the quota agitation, retorted in equal measure and demanded whether Wadettiwar had switched sides and started speaking in the government lingo. Wadettiwar, who is also the OBC face of the Congress in Maharashtra, objected to the Hold back MSP: HC solution to farm fires ONLINE REPORT / NEW DELHI Registering criminal cases against farmers and labourers who burn paddy stubble and accentuate air pollution is not a solution to tackle the stubble burning issue in Punjab and other states, the Supreme Court said on Friday reports Bar and Bench. , A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul,  Sudhanshu Dhulia  and  Ahsanuddin Amanullah stated that instead of registering first information reports against offending farmers, the government should consider withholding minimum sup- port prices (MSP) to such farmers for their crops. "Registering FIR is not the solution actually It has to be . incentive-based or even a punitive measure. Like those who burn stubble will not be given MSP next year. Carrot and stick is up to you. Farm fires must stop. Cannot be lackadaisical, Attorney All the States are re. sponsible. Get the Chief Secretaries and find a solution," the court said. The court, however, clarified that it was not advocating scrapping of MSP on paddy . CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI The Bombay high court on Friday dismissed a petition by television actor Sheezan Khan seeking to quash the FIR and chargesheet filed against him for abetment to suicide of his co-actor Tunisha Sharma in December last year, observing that the investigation reveals his complicity . On December 24, 2022, Shar- demand of Jarange-Patil that ‘Kunbi’ caste certificate be given to all Marathas in the state, calling it “injustice” to the 372 sub-castes that fall under the OBC category . “For any caste to get reservation under OBC quota, they should be economically and socially backward. There is a process which determines this. The government cannot declare it so, just because a few people are askCONTD. ON NATION ing for it. ODD-EVEN IS OFF FOR NOW FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI The Delhi government postponed the implementation of the odd-even car rationing scheme with intermittent rains on Friday bringing relief from the hazardous air in the national capital. The city's 24-hour average AQI stood at 279, a notable improvement from 437 on Thursday and 426 on Wednesday Delhi Environ. ment Minister Gopal Rai announced the postponement of the odd-even scheme scheduled to be implemented from November 13 to 20 because of a notable improvement in the air quality because of the rain. LAST WORD That crowded feeling: 8 billion, now FPJ NEWS SERVICE / WASHINGTON The world population has crossed 8 billion, with longer lifespans offsetting fewer births, according to the US Census Bureau. The agency estimated that the 8 billion threshold was crossed on September 26. However, the Census Bureau pointed out that the UN estimated that the number was reached 10 months earlier and had declared November 22, 2022, as the ‘Day of 8 Billion’. The discrepancy according to the bu, reau, is a result of countries counting people differently with several nations lack, ing systems to properly record births and deaths and some of the most populous countries, such as India and Nigeria, not having conducted censuses for more than a decade. The bureau also highlights that the rate of growth has slowed since it doubled between 1960 and 2000. Much of the recent increase can be attributed to people living longer lives and for the ensuing four days.   Further, the division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Girish Kulkarni has modified the time for bursting of firecrackers, allowing it from 8pm to 10pm only after having earlier , permitted it from 7pm to 10pm. Besides, the court has directed the authorities to enforce the direction  of the Supreme Court with regard to banning firecrackers containing barium.  While appreciating Mumbaikars for exercising restraint in bursting crackers, the bench noted that the air quality had not worsened here as it had in the capital. CONTD. ON NATION HC dismisses TV actor’s plea Now, its Wadettiwar v/s Jarange-Patil FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI HC extends stay on transportation of construction debris till Nov 19; modifies order on crackers; court says we are not Delhi, we are Mumbaikars about the alarming air quality in the city and much more had to be done though there was some difference in the AQI in the last four days.      On November 6, the HC had banned transportation of debris from construction sites the global median age of 32 can be expected to become 39 by 2060. A decline in older age mortality rates has led to countries such as Canada ageing, while countries such as Nigeria have seen dramatic declines in deaths of children under 5. Meanwhile, fertility rates are falling below replacement level in much of the world and contributing to a more than 50year trend, on average, of slimmer increases in population growth. The minimum number of births needed to replace both the father and mother for neutral world population is 2.1, according to demographers, but about three-quarters of people now live in CONTD. ON NATION countries with ma, 21, and Khan were shooting for Hindi TV show Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul, in a studio near Vasai at the outskirts of Mumbai. Sharma was later found hanging, dead in the washroom on the set. The court noted that Khan caused mental trauma to Sharma and humiliated her by frequently quarrelling with her. “The allegations prima facie reveals that, the conduct of the FDA seizes khoya worth Rs 3.6 lakh applicant in ending the relationship with the victim, having relationship with another female and constant quarrel had deeply affected the victim,” the court added. The actors were in a relationship but broke up 15 days before she died by suicide. A day later, Waliv police arrested Khan under charges of abetment to suicide. CONTD. ON NATION Sheezan Khan and co-actor Tunisha Sharma shooting for a Hindi TV show The Food and Drug Administration has seized sweet ‘khoya’ worth more than Rs3.60 lakh from Gulab Food Products in Kandivali. This comes after FDA on Wednesday issued a stopwork notice to Ganesh Bhandar, a well-known establishment in Girgaum. A team led by Food Safety Officer TB Ghumane seized 899 kg of substandard sweet khoya, Rose Barfi and Malai Barfi during the raid on the Kandivali establishment on Thursday . “During inspection we found that khoya was stored in unhygienic condition and was suspected to be substandard. We then seized three samples for further analysis,” said Shailesh Adhav, Joint Commissioner, FDA. The FDA is taking steps to curb the increasing use of substandard food products, Adhav said. “The drive against adulteration, spurious colours, substandard materials and spurious raw materials would continue. If the collected samples are found unsafe and injurious to health, imprisonment up to three months and a fine would be imposed. If substandard material is found, the adjudicating officer can slap fines of Rs2-5 lakh depending upon the severity of the case,” the FDA official said. The establishment is suspected to have indulged in violations, including operating without a licence, CONTD. ON NATION